The biggest mistake I ever made in my life was obtaining my first credit card when I turned 18. I thought I was made of money and could have anything I wanted! As long as it remained within my credit limit, of course.
What I was clueless about was the repayment. I wound up buying and buying, because I could. But when the bill finally arrived- I had quite a shock! It seemed I could spend and spend, but come repayment time, where would I find the money?
Oh, they only wanted $50.00 at a time. How convenient. Sadly however, I would be paying this $50.00 until the end of time. I found help from my mother, tough love you could say. She cut up my credit cards and took my paycheck every week. Then she wrote out my bills and paid off my debt in a short amount of time.
I promised myself, I would never do it again.
Now, almost 16 years later, I find myself in the same boat, because I needed that CD, or that trip or the car. Once again, the bloodsucking monsters seduced me with their bonuses, and lowered rates, easy payment plans and like a sheep being led to the slaughter, I succumbed to their low level manipulation. I am now in a hole deeper than before and am scrambling to get out.
This time it's different. Mom isn't there to bail me out, but I did follow her lead. Now I am organizing a method to pay off the debt and have made a commitment to myself. One that I will teach to my kids when they get older as well.
- Pay for my life expenses first and always- like food, shelter, gas for the car, healthcare. Anything else is an optional expense and until I am free of debt, they will remain this way.
- If I don't have the cash in my pocket NOW to buy something- I probably won't have the cash later.
- If I will have the cash later, I will wait until the cash is in my hands before buying ANYTHING.
- When I am ready to buy something, I wait 48 hours before buying to be absolutely sure I really really NEED it.
- When repaying debt, I pay off the lowest balances and roll the committed money to the next debtor. It will take time but soon, with diligence I will be debt free.
- If a credit counseling company can negotiate my debt, so can I. No need to discuss things with a third party- this is between me and my credit card. Why should any of my money be given to someone who is superfluous?
I hope my tips can help those out there struggling like me to break free of this nasty cycle.
I put myself in it, and I can get myself out of it.
